The Role

We are seeking an experienced and commercially minded Senior In-House Legal Counsel to lead and further develop the UK legal capability. This is a senior, hands-on role responsible for providing high-quality legal advice across the Bank’s activities, managing legal risk, and supporting strategic initiatives.

The successful candidate will act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership and business stakeholders, while managing and mentoring one direct report. The role requires strong UK financial services regulatory expertise, sound judgement, and the ability to operate effectively in a fast-growing, technology-driven banking environment.

Key Responsibilities

Legal Advisory & Risk Management:

• Provide strategic and day-to-day legal advice across the Bank’s activities, including lending, payments, deposits, fintech partnerships and operational matters.
• Advise on UK regulatory matters, including FCA and PRA requirements, SMCR, consumer duty, PSD2/PSD3, Payment Services Regulations, UK GDPR, safeguarding regime and conduct risk.
• Support the design and launch of new financial products and services, ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulatory expectations.
• Provide legal support in the management and protection of the Bank’s intellectual property portfolio, advising on software licensing, trademark matters and brand protection.Identify, assess and mitigate legal and regulatory risks.

Commercial & Contractual Matters

• Lead drafting, review and negotiation of a wide range of commercial agreements, including:
  • Customer and supplier contracts
  • Outsourcing and technology agreements
  • Fintech and banking-as-a-service partnerships
  • Funding and treasury documentation

• Develop and maintain robust contract templates and playbooks to enhance efficiency and risk control.
• Liaise with the vendor management team to support the onboarding of new suppliers and the renewal or renegotiation of existing supplier arrangements, ensuring compliance with internal policies and regulatory requirements.
• Conducting outsourcing analyses, including assessing whether vendor engagements constitute regulated outsourcing, and advising on the associated legal and regulatory implications.
• Providing data protection advice in relation to vendor relationships, including assessing international data transfers, reviewing SCCs/DPAs, and ensuring appropriate technical and organisational safeguards are in place.
• Advising on overall legal, regulatory, and contractual risks arising from vendor engagements, and recommending mitigation strategies aligned with the bank’s risk appetite and compliance obligations.

Data Protection:

• Draft, review and negotiate data protection clauses, data processing agreements and international data transfer provisions.
• Support the data protection function by providing legal input on regulatory developments, enforcement trends and data protection risk.

Advise on data protection aspects of third-party arrangements, outsourcing and technology implementations.

Governance & Corporate Matters:

• Support corporate governance processes, including Board and Committee documentation where required.
• Advise senior management on governance, regulatory reporting and internal policy matters.
• Liaise with Company Secretarial and Compliance teams as appropriate.

Regulatory Engagement & Change:

• Support regulatory interactions, including reviews, thematic visits and information requests.
• Advise on regulatory developments and lead legal implementation aspects of change initiatives.
• Partner with Compliance and Risk to ensure alignment on regulatory interpretation and risk appetite.

Team Leadership

• Line manage and mentor one direct report, supporting their professional development.
• Contribute to building a high-performing, pragmatic and commercially focused legal function.
• Manage external counsel effectively, including scoping, budgeting and performance oversight.

Skills & Experience

Essential

• Qualified solicitor in England & Wales (or equivalent common law jurisdiction) with strong UK regulatory experience.
• Significant post-qualification experience  with a combination of private practice and/or in-house financial services experience.
• Strong working knowledge of UK banking regulation (FCA/PRA framework).
• Experience advising regulated financial institutions, ideally within banking or fintech.
• Proven ability to manage legal risk in a commercially pragmatic manner.
• Experience managing or mentoring junior lawyers.
• Excellent drafting, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.

Desirable

• Experience in digital banking, fintech, embedded finance or banking-as-a-service models.
• Exposure to cross-border legal and regulatory issues.
• Experience supporting scaling or transformation environments.

Experience using legal AI technology tools.

Personal Attributes

• Strategic thinker with strong commercial acumen.
• Confident communicator able to influence senior stakeholders.
• Solutions-oriented, with the ability to balance regulatory rigor and business agility.
• Comfortable operating in a dynamic, growth-focused environment.
• High integrity and strong professional judgement.
• Comfortable with reprioritising and adapting to change.

What We Offer

• High-impact, highly autonomous role within a growing UK bank.
• Exposure to innovative financial services models and strategic projects.
• Opportunity to shape and develop the UK legal function.
• Competitive salary and benefits package.